Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy : See this movie, and don't forget your towel

I've spent a long time trying to figure out how exactly to word how amazing I found this movie. But let's work up to that.

I'm going to start with that terrible review several of us may have read. The movie does, in fact, differ from the book. The general idea of the plot remains in tact, but a lot of it has been shuffled around and "hollywoodized" to make a bit more sense in the context of a two hour movie.

A lot of your favorite jokes may be gone, but it's great when a line that you loved pops up in the script.

Now with the stuff I loved. Let's start with the excellent cast. I initially had my doubts about Mos Def as Ford Prefect, but after a couple minutes of screen time, I was fine with him. He may not be exactly as you pictured Ford, but give the guy a chance. Sam Rockwell was a WONDERFUL Zaphod. I can't even begin to tell you how much I liked his portrayl. Zooey Deschanel was a great Trillian, and Martin Freeman is quite close to how I imagined Arthur Dent. John Malkovich did a great job as "the new character" and is excellently weird. The voices of Alan Rickman and Stephen Fry just complete the picture; I can think of no one else who could have done these parts nearly this well.

The effects are great. Jim Henson's creature shop did a perfect job, I was never unhappy with the computer graphics, the guide bits are wonderful, and the "knit sequence" is one of my favorite additions.

The humor is wonderful, and, in my opinion, adapted considerably well to sound and visuals. I was practically rolling around on the ground by the opening credits, and it just gets better from there. The guide sequences were generally quite hilarious and wonderful.

So, all in all, I loved it. It's not perfectly faithful, but it doesn't lose the Adams touch, even when processed through Hollywood and Disney. Be sure to stick around during the credits (there's one more guide sequence in there), and whatever you do, don't forget your towel (you may think I'm kidding, but one of my group actually did bring his towel. And it came in handy. You just never know).